Shiels family name history and map
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Shiels in 1911 Ireland
The 1911 Census recorded 967 people named Shiels in Ireland; roughly one in every 4,500 people carried the name. The name was split fairly evenly between men and women: 489 men and 474 women. (A small number, 4, had no sex recorded.)
Counties with Shiels in Ireland
Donegal had the largest share of Shielses, 24.1% (233 people). Next came Dublin (158), Derry (150), Antrim (68) and Cavan (54).
Shiels average age in 1911
The average Shiels in 1911 was 30.3 years old, 30.2 for men and 30.4 for women; almost exactly in line with the national averages of 29.6 for men and 30.5 for women. That low figure reflects just how many children there were in Edwardian Ireland, along with high infant mortality and the limits of public health at the time. For comparison, average life expectancy in Ireland today is around 83.
Shiels literacy in 1911
Of the Shielses whose literacy was recorded, 72.7% could both read and write, 4.9% could read but not write, and 22.4% could do neither. Men came out slightly ahead, 73.9% reading and writing against 71.3% of women. Bear in mind these figures include young children; the census itself only counted people aged nine and over when calculating illiteracy, on the grounds that it was unfair to label a child illiterate before they'd had a chance to learn.
Shiels common first names
The most common male names were John (66), Patrick, James, William and Michael. For women it was Mary (81), followed by Bridget, Margaret, Catherine and Kate.
Shiels occupations in 1911
The most common entry on a Shiels's census form was "Scholar"; 19% (184) were children at school. Among the rest, the most common occupations were farmer (14.8%), general labourer (5%), farm labourer (4.3%) and domestic servant (3.9%). Grouped by sector, agriculture accounted for 19.8% of all Shielses, followed by domestic service, general labourers and textiles & clothing.
What religion is Shiels?
Shielses were predominantly Roman Catholic (80.7%). The remainder were mostly Presbyterian (15.6%), Anglican (1.4%) and Methodist (0.6%).
Visitor Notes
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Added by
Pete F
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Shiels statistics (1911)
Number: 967
Rank: 812
Average Age: 30
Shielsin the USA (2020)
Number: 799
Rank: 31,118
Note: If there were less than 100 in the USA census it will show as zero.
